Spike Lee quotes Kurosawa

Mendelson: How have you changed as a filmmaker over the last 25 years or so?

Lee: I’m a better filmmaker. I’m just more in command of the craft of filmmaking. I read a quote by one of my heroes. Akira Kurosawa was asked in his 80s was there anything else he had to learn because he’s one of the world’s masters, is there anything else he had to learn in cinema. And Kurosawa said, “The universe,” so when I read that in film school it really cemented my mind that you always should continue to grow and learn.

Lee has never been shy about his admiration of Kurosawa. When asked to list his favourite films a couple of years back, the 95 films included no less than four Kurosawa films. And wasn’t his first feature She’s Gotta Have It also kind of inspired by Rashomon?

For me, Spike Lee’s films have tended to be a bit hit or miss but I must say that I really liked BlacKkKlansman. Anyone else here seen it yet?